Steve Smith turned 28 on Friday. (Source: Reuters)
Australian skipper Steve Smith turned 28 on Friday. Smith first donned the Australian jersey in a T20I against Pakistan in 2010. He went on to make his ODI and Test debut against West Indies and Pakistan respectively. The captain has led his team in 24 Test matches where his side registered wins in 12 matches and lost 7.
Smith was an integral part of Australia’s squad that won the ICC World Cup in 2015 at home. He even scored a hundred against India in semi-final and anchored his side to a total of 328/7. Batting first, Australia rode on Smith’s ton to hammer the Indian bowlers all around the park. The right-handed batsman scored 105 during the course.
In reply, India began the proceedings well but the dismissal of Shikhar Dhawan saw India pushed on the backfoot in the chase. They were soon left tottering at 208/6 and were later bundled out for 233 to bow out of the tournament. Australia later defeated New Zealand in the final match to lift the World Cup for the fifth time.
Apart from his contribution in Australia’s world cup winning campaign and limited overs cricket, Smith has been a brilliant customer in the longest format too. Smith was the highest run-scorer in the in 2014-15 Test series against India where he notched up a total of 769 runs at an average of 128.16.
Smith was handed over the captaincy responsibility of Indian Premier League’s franchise Rising Pune Supergiant in this edition of the cash-rich league. The franchise made a place in the finals but lost to Mumbai Indians by 1 run.
